The Ultimate Passover Cleaning Checklist

Passover is coming up. We don’t mean to stress you out, rather we want to help you. If you are going to a Passover program, there are less things that you need to clean and take care of. If you’re staying home this year, then there are much more things to do. Follow this checklist to ensure that everything is done before Passover begins. Keep in mind that everyone has different halachot and standards that they follow when it comes to cleaning for Pesach. Ask your local Orthodox rabbi and you’re good to go.

• Clean main and children’s bedroom

This includes under the bed, inside drawers and cabinets, inside closets, looking into and cleaning garment pockets, vacuuming what needs to be vacuumed, sweeping the floors, mopping, and so on. Go through the kid’s toy box, either wipe down all toys that were smothered with chametz or just buy some toys that are only used for Passover. Clean out their backpacks, purses, or random bags they have hanging. There is sure to be some leftover Cheerios or crackers.

• Clean the dining room

Mop and sweep the floors, wipe down chairs and vacuum little crevices for places where challah crumbs could have dropped. Clean and wipe down any highchairs or kiddy chairs and tables. Put away all the chametz things that you may use on Shabbos, such as challah cover, knife, and cutting board, bentchers, shtender, and so on. Wipe down the table and try to clean out the small holes and crevices in the table.

• Clean the living room

Mop, sweep, and vacuum the floors if need be. If you have any rugs or carpets, get them professionally cleaned or buy a new one for Passover. There can be tons of leftover crumbs stuck and dried onto carpets, so keep that in mind. Vacuum couches, sofas, loveseats, take out the cushions, and even put them into the wash. Go through your bookshelves and clean out the seforim and books that you use around chametz throughout the year. Clean under any desks, coffee tables, and so on.

• Clean out your cars

Either get your vehicles professionally washed and detailed or do it yourself. Vacuum the seats of the car, remove the floor carpets, and wash them, go through the trunk, dashboard, or any holes that you would have put anything in during the year. If you have any car seats, vacuum out any crumbs and wipe it down.

• Clean the kitchen.

Clean your fridge majorly, wipe everything down, use disinfectant. Go through your food for the week and see how you can use anything chametz for dinner before Passover. Go through your pantry and see which items of chametz you would like to burn and which items you’ll be selling. Go through the cabinets and shelves, use a vacuum to get into the little corners. Store away your pots, pans, cutlery, plates, bowls, cups, literally everything. Put everything in storage and replace everything else with your Passover dishes and equipment. Close off any cabinets or shelves that you are blocking off for Passover with tape or ribbon. Cover sections in the fridge with foil, cover your stove with foil and cover your kitchen counters with contact paper.

• Clean out your purse and work bag. This is helpful because you’ll probably find the missing lipstick you were looking for and throw out some old receipts. Go through your makeup bag and put away any products that you don’t use on Pesach and replace them with the Kosher for Passover products.

Remember this is cleaning for Passover, not spring cleaning. So, you do not need to go crazy and wipe down the windows, clean the bathroom, organize everything, and clean things that have never been touched by chametz. You are only cleaning stuff that has traces of chametz so don’t drive yourself up a wall. Happy cleaning!